1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,319 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel bam here. If you watch cable news these days, 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: you may have heard a lot of impassioned debate about 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: a phenomenon that some call family reunification and others call 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: chain migration either way, in which immigrants who settle in 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: the United States then sponsor family members to enter the 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: country and join them. President Donald J. Trump said in 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: his State of the Union address, under the current broken system, 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: distant relatives. To fix that perceived problem, Trump favors passage 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: of the Rays Act, a piece of legislation that, if enacted, 12 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: would reduce the ability of Americans to sponsor extended family 13 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: and adult family members, and would impose a skills based 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: point system for deciding who gets to enter the United States. 15 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: As a result, the Act would cut legal immigration to 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: the United States by a projected fort in its first 17 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: year alone. From the tenor of the discussion, you might 18 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: think that it's pretty easy to obtain a so called 19 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: green card, the permit that enables a foreign national to 20 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: live and work in the US permanently, provided that you've 21 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: got relatives here already. But how easy is it really. 22 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: Let's take the example of a naturalized citizen from say, 23 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: the Philippines, who's been trying to bring a brother sister 24 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: here to live. According to the U S. Department of 25 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: State's latest visible in currently covering, such a sibling is 26 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: now eligible for processing via family reunification if they filed 27 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: immigration paperwork before February one. Yep. That means the projected 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: weight time for a brother or sister who applies today 29 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: would be more than twenty three years. Other categories of 30 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: family members from various countries face similarly long waits. A 31 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: sibling from Mexico faces a projected weight of slightly more 32 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: than twenty years, while one from India probably will have 33 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: to sit tight for about fourteen. And those projections aren't 34 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: set in stone the way. It could get shorter or 35 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: longer depending on other factors. We spoke with Joshua Brasblatt, 36 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: an attorney and senior policy analyst at the American Immigration Council, 37 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: which is a Washington, d c. Based organization that supports immigration. 38 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: He said, people think you just apply, you get in line, 39 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: and you come. It's much more complicated than that. With 40 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: all the categories and the limits. US immigration regulations tend 41 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 1: towards the inscrutable, in part because it essentially has multiple systems, 42 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: one that's family based, another based on employment, and separate 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: routes for refugees and those seeking asylum. That American Immigration 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: Council has a nine page document to explain it. There 45 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: are numerical limits on categories of immigrants and countries as well, 46 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: but let's focus for a moment on family based and 47 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: employment based immigration, which Breezeblitz says are the two main 48 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: categories accounting for most of the people who enter the 49 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 1: US legally and become permanent residents. So stick with me here. 50 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: There are four categories of family based immigration. F one 51 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,399 Speaker 1: is unmarried sons and daughter is over age twenty one 52 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: of U. S. Citizens. F two is separated into A 53 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: and B. A is spouses and children of permanent residents. 54 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,639 Speaker 1: B is unmarried sons and daughters over age twenty one 55 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: of permanent residents. F three is married sons and daughters 56 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: of U. S citizens, and F four is brothers and 57 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: sisters of adult U. S. Citizens. The family based portion 58 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: of the system has a theoretical ceiling of four hundred 59 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 1: and eighty thousand immigrants allowed into the country each year, 60 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 1: though according to Breese Blett, the actual numbers often higher. 61 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: That's because the f to a category of immigration preferences 62 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: that spouses and minor children of permanent US residents is 63 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: not capped. But that doesn't mean that they get in 64 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: right away. Those applications can face a projected weight time 65 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: of about two years, according to the latest State Department bulletin. 66 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: Other family categories have caps on the number of people 67 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: who can use them. For brothers and sisters, for example, 68 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: the cap is sixty five thousand immigrants per year, unless 69 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: there happens to be unneeded visas from the first three 70 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: categories to supplement. In addition to the cap on categories, 71 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: there's also a rule that no country can exceed seven 72 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: percent of the total people immigrating to the US in 73 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: a given year. A breeze split explains China, India, Mexico, 74 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: and the Philippines are countries where there's a high desire 75 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: to immigrate, they have longer wait times because they hit 76 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: the limit sooner. Okay, but what about a foreign national 77 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: without relatives of the country who wants to come here 78 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,359 Speaker 1: to take a job. While that's often a quicker route. 79 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: In some cases, those immigrants have to wait for years 80 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: as well. Immigration for employment purposes is capped at a 81 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: much lower level, just a hundred and forty thousand people 82 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: per year, but the number of available slots is actually 83 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: less because those job related immigrants are allowed to bring 84 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: spouses and minor children, and those both are counted against 85 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: the a hundred and forty thousand person limit, according to 86 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: bree Split. Additionally, not all workers are equal. There are 87 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: different employment based preference categories. The first preference EB one 88 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: a k a. The Einstein Visa, goes to people deemed 89 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: to have extraordinary ability in various fields. There are also 90 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: categories for people with advanced degrees both professionals and skilled workers, 91 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: and another for investors willing to put up one million 92 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: dollars or more to underwrite a new business that would 93 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 1: employ at least ten full time workers, although a fifty 94 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: thousand dollars is enough if the investment is targeted at 95 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: a rural or high unemployment area. To make things even 96 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: more complicated, that seven percent limit on immigration from a 97 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: particular country still has to be factored in. As a result, 98 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: some workers from China could face a projected weight of 99 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: eleven years, while an immigrant from Vietnam in the same 100 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: category might be eligible immediately for a green card. Perhaps 101 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: the thing that people on both sides of the immigration 102 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: debate can agree on is that the system is messy 103 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: at best. In a June twenty seventeen Gallop poll, thirty 104 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: eight percent of Americans said that immigration should be maintained 105 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: at its present level, thirty five percent felt it should 106 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: be decreased, and twenty four percent favored allowing more immigrants 107 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: into the country. M HM. Today's episode was written by 108 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: Patrick J. Keiger and produced by Tyler Clang, with kind 109 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: engineering assistance by Ramsay Yount. For more on this and 110 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: lots of other sticky topics, visit our home planet, how 111 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com.